Jacob and Joseph with his Sons, Ephraim and Menasseh
after Guercino (Cento 1591 – Bologna 1666)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1646 - 1808
Materials
Oil on panel
Measurements
1753 x 2235 mm (69 x 88 in)
Place of origin
Italy
Order this imageCollection
Ickworth, Suffolk
NT 851996
Caption
According to the biblical story in the Old Testament Book of Genesis, Joseph brought his two sons before his father, Jacob, to be blessed. The blind old man, unexpectedly, crossed his arms, in a prophetic pose of the sign of the cross, and blessed Ephraim, his younger grandson, with his right hand, thus favouring him over his elder brother. It was from the young boy's descendants that Christ was born .The disbelief of Joseph and of his elder son Manasseh is clearly shown. The original painting, painted around 1620, is now in the National Gallery, Ireland (presented by Sir Denis Mahon to the British Fund for the National Gallery of Ireland, 2008). It was commissioned by Cardinal Jacopo Serra, the Papal Legate in Ferrara.
Summary
Oil painting on panel, Jacob and Joseph with his Sons, Ephraim and Menasseh, after Guercino (Cento 1591 – Bologna 1666), late 16th - early 19th century. An old, half-naked man, sitting on a bed with a red drapery covering his legs. A dark-haired man kneeling on his right, and two youths on the left. Jacob is blessing Ephraim, his younger grandson to the disbelief of Joseph and Manasseh which is shown on their faces. This painting is after the original 'Jacob blessing the Sons of Joseph', painted in Ferrara for Cardinal Jacopo Serra in 1620, and which was in Spain (collection Manuel Godoy) from 1646 to 1808 when this copy was probably made, which was presented by Sir Denis Mahon to the National Gallery of Ireland in 2008. According to the biblical story in the Book of Genesis, Joseph brought his two sons before his father Jacob to be blessed. The blind old man, unexpectedly, crossed his arms, in a prophetic pose of the sign of the cross, and blessed Ephraim, his younger grandson, with his right hand, thus favouring him over his elder brother and from whose descendants Christ was born.
Provenance
In the 1837 list by Frederick William Hervey, 1st Marquess of Bristol (1769-1859); purchased by the National Trust at Sotheby's sale, contents of The East Wing, Ickworth, Suffolk, 11-12 June 1996
Credit line
Ickworth, The Bristol Collection (acquired through the National Land Fund and transferred to The National Trust in 1956)
Makers and roles
after Guercino (Cento 1591 – Bologna 1666) , publisher
References
Il Guercino. Dipinti e Disegni Il Guercino e Lal Bottega (Denis Mahon), Museo Civico Archeologico Cento, Pinacoteca Civica e Chiesa del Rosario, Bologna, 6 September - 10 November 1991, original; no. 44 Salerno 1988 Luigi Salerno, I dipinti del Guercino, Rome, 1988, no. 66